Healthy sleep, happy family (+ Liv’s new room!)
This post is sponsored through my partnership with Sleep Number.
I mentioned before that we were having some sleep struggles. Liv wasn’t sleeping well in her bed, so we ordered a cot for her to use in our room. (The rule was that she had to go to sleep in her own room, but during the night, she could come into her cot quietly.) I didn’t want her to feel like she couldn’t come into our room if she got scared during the night, especially since I used to do the exact same thing and would sleep in a laundry basket on my parents’ floor because I wanted to be close to them. Well, guess what hasn’t been used much at all lately.
Yep, the cot.
And it’s all because of this right here.
Livi’s room was due for a bit of a re-design. Even though she had lots of cute toys and furniture, it felt very dark and cluttered. The energy was “off” and her twin bed already seemed quite small for her long legs (and sideways sleeping position she’ll often assume).
Here’s the before picture:
When Sleep Number offered us the opportunity to order a new bed, we chose one for Liv in hopes that she would sleep better. This means we would ALL be more well-rested.
She was so excited when her SleepIQ Kids™ bed arrived. She picked out new bedding and accessories, and we put everything together. (We = the Pilot. haha)
Here she is “surfing” on her new bed before the rest of the bedding arrived:
The finished product:
I bagged up toys she no longer uses and reorganized the storage bins under the bed and in her closet. The energy is so much better (much brighter and more calm!) and the new SleepIQ Kids bed is a DREAM.
Some of the benefits of her SleepIQ Kids bed:
-SleepIQ® technology, so you can see how well the entire family is sleeping. You can add stars to reward for good sleep
-Just like any Sleep Number bed, you can adjust the mattress firmness from your phone. Since the Sleep Number® setting can always be adjusted, it grows and changes with your child
-With this bed, we also have an optional head tilt, which is perfect for stories before bed or when she has a cold
-You can set the app to alert you if your kiddo jumps out of bed during the night
-An under-the-bed light to illuminate the floor (also can be shut off from your phone)
-LIV ACTUALLY SLEEPS WELL, AND STAYS IN BED. She rarely uses the cot anymore, unless she just wakes up super early, then she’ll come chill in the cot until I’m ready to wake up and start the day. It is now very rare for her to come into our room in the middle of the night. I think it’s happened twice since we changed her room, and once was when she was sick.
Since Liv is sleeping well, we’re all sleeping much better around here, which makes for a happier family all around. It’s funny because it wasn’t until we had kids that I noticed how invaluable sleep truly is. With babies, sleep begets sleep. If the baby is napping well, they’re more likely to get a full night’s sleep, and an overtired baby is way more challenging to put down for naps. The same goes for toddlers, preschoolers, kids, and adults. We all have more energy and happier moods if we’re well-rested.
(Tom snapped the pic and I was standing out of the frame in case P decided to start crawling.)
Sleep is critical for our entire family, and I’m so happy that Liv is getting some quality zzz’s in her new Sleep Number bed.
Do you have any bedtime routines that you follow each night? How many hours of sleep is your personal magic number? If you’re looking for a new routine, check out these tips from Sleep Number.
We usually will give the girls a bath and do story time, and we alternate nights reading stories to Liv and putting P down for bed. I’ll usually end the evening with a glass of wine, catch up some loose ends with work, and read or meditate for a while before crashing out. My magic number of sleep hours is 8, but I’m happy with 7.
xoxo
Gina
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I need to know where the art (the giant wave) came from! Love it.
thank you- it’s from ikea!
Love her new room!! That bed sounds amazing with all the things it does for kids! I love my sleep, but I often don’t get enough. I get up super early for work and it is always hard for me to go to bed super early.
i think that would be really hard for me, too. even back in the day when i worked at 7am, i still often went to bed at midnight. i’m a night owl 🙂
Cute room!!! Especially the huge wave artwork. Please share where you found it!
thank you! ikea! it is HUGE
Please share where you got the mermaid blanket…adorable!
land of nod 🙂
Her room looks SO different. So much brighter and happier! She looks so pumped about it, too!
Before bed, I’m totally with you. I sleep best when I turn off technology just a bit before crawling under the sheets. While I haven’t been following that lately (owning your own business is HARD y’all!), I’m looking forward to getting back to that point, stat!
XO, Jessica
thank you!
and yes! it’s hard to make the effort to shut down, but it’s worth it
I shower at night (an old habit from when I was working a really high-stress job and spent a lot of time in an operating room all day), which I find relaxing in itself, but recently I’ve been making that a candlelit shower with a glass of wine, which I cannot recommend enough. Also, this post has me totally ready for an afternoon nap, haha.
I love that little hedgehog! (I think that’s what it is haha). Can you share where it’s from? Her room is beautiful. Love the color scheme; it looks so relaxing and chill 🙂
I’m not Gina but I know that hedgehog is from Target because it was just shown on Emily Henderson’s blog, too. : )
yep! target 🙂 thanks, mary <3
Thank you!
What a beautiful little room! My magic sleep number is 8.5
When I’m on vacay I naturally wake up between 8-9 hours of sleep– I’m a sleepy head!
Lately I’ve been getting less…My routine right now is dictated by my puppy, I take him out for a walk right before sleep, it’s kind of relaxing…a nice way to wind down before bed 🙂
same! i LOVE sleeping in on vacay. my first night away after having liv, i slept for 13 hours hahaha
Oh man I would have loved a bed that size as a kid. I shared a trundle with my sister and didn’t have my first “adult” sized bed until I moved out on my own. I love it!
same! i slept in a twin bed until i was 18. she sprawls out so the extra space has been awesome, especially when we read before bed
Her room looks so pretty and bright! I need to tackle a few rooms too–so daunting!
it is! but once you get started, it’s so much fun
Love her room!! A glass of wine after baby bedtime has become habit for me too!
it’s the perfect high five after a long day 😉
Love the new room. So bright and pretty. I usually bath our girls and get them in their pjs while my husband preps dinner. Then I read a story (1 which turns into 5) and then we go back and forth trying to get them to stay in their room and sleep. haha